Project: 80s theme at MAWTT

This week at Moving Along with the Times we want to see your 80s inspired cards. Time to feel that neon!

I decided to go for an atmospheric 80s stonewashed jeans vibe, so I splatter painted a piece of card stock with Distress Ink in bright pink, yellow, turquoise and added my 80s themed RAD! greeting. I have this cool Polaroid frame in my stash (I think it was Recollections but I could be wrong - and I think it came from Claire) and so I used it to crookedly frame the greeting off the side. Then I just added a bunch of sequins and glitter glue dots until I felt it was suitably 80s.

Hope you like it, can't wait to see what you do with the theme!

Project 315: Wedding card sketches in two colors

I was asked this week if I had a wedding card in my stash and I was gutted to discover I didn't! He needed it that day and I hate to disappoint someone so I was resolved to go home and make a few this weekend.

I really liked the sketch at Sketch Saturday and knew that the wedding cake die I have from DiesRUs would be perfect for the central banner:

The headline image is fun but formal. I embossed the magenta paper with dots and then added the die cut cake over a layer of paler purple. The greeting is from Stamping Up endless birthday wishes set and I heat embossed it in white. The little flowers are from a pack I picked up at the pound shop - I haven't seen them the last time I went so I have to use them a bit more sparingly! The black and white damask paper is Dovecraft.

This was my second take on it, I wanted to do a blue version as it can often make things a bit more masculine. It didn't really work in this case though. Happily I have a few wedding cards in the stash should there be any other wedding emergencies. Phew.

Project 314: Mother's day in purple scraps

I often make Mother's Day cards in batches of 3-4 cards in the same layout with different colors but this weekend I didn't really have the energy for bulk making so I just made a few one-offs based on blog challenges that inspired me. I liked the color scheme at Bugaboo's April Color Challenge:

And what's more I was planning on playing with the little Jacques bird image from Bugaboo and thought it'd work well with The Paper Player's sketch challenge:

So by happy accident I was able to grab some purple scraps and play along!


The image is colored with ProMarkers and die cut using two circle dies. The scraps were all from a scrap bag and the gingham and vellum have been in there for years and years - maybe 6? I think I bought them when I was doing wedding craft which dates it back to early 2010! The plain purple was the offcut from the circle die and I embossed it using a basket weave folder.

The greeting is from Claire and I think it rounds off the sketch nicely. I don't often leave a blank white background but I think the papers are busy enough to warrant a clean background.

Really pleased how it all came together, I may keep it for personal use rather than sell it!

Project 313: Simple mother's day card

I am a bit behind on my Mother's Day stash for the non-UK holidays so I was exploring some things that were popular previously and freshening them up a bit. I liked the colors at The Color Throwdown challenge this week and thought they'd work well with this Bugaboo image:

I colored it with ProMarkers in Mandarin, Hot Pink, Ginger and Leaf Green. I diecut it using a Sizzix nesting oval die, and then added rings of pink and orange (from scraps! I swear!) and added a few little pearls for bling. The greeting is hand written as I thought it worked well with the image, and then I left it at that. No extra fussiness this week, just clean and simple.

Project 312: Pineapple birthday card

We have a new girl at the office and she confessed to loving pineapples. It was evident when I saw them in her phone, on her glasses case...pretty much anywhere she could find a pattern there was a pineapple.

I thought the sketch at Retro Sketches this week would be perfect for me to have a play making my own patterned paper so I gave it a go using a little Recollections pineapple stamp I have:

The Celebrate greeting is an oldie but goodie, though I sort of wish I had heat embossed it to stand out more. Never mind. I liked the cracky nature of the stamp from repeated use, I thought that added a nice bit of retro age. The yellow string and green chevron paper have been in the stash for ages, was nice to find a fun card to get them out for.

Will give the card to my colleague tomorrow, hopefully she'll like it.

Project 311: Two very different cards for a sunny Sunday

I haven't been crafting this week, not because I don't have things I want to make (or need to, as US Mother's Day is around the corner...!) but because it has been one of those weeks where life got in the way. Today was going to be my catch up day, until I realized it's my 2 year anniversary from adopting our little dog from the animal shelter and the day was taken over with walks and treats and playtime for him!

All I squeezed in were two cards that I need to get in the post as they're both belated to start with. The headline card is a card for my sister in law, who just finished medical school. I used a Sizzix die set and a Recollections Trader Jane paper set, topped with some glitter glue and that was about it! Simple but nice. I really need to use this set more, it's wicked fun and the whole thing comes together really easily.

Next is this fun little Bugaboo elephant. My friend's baby girl turned 1 about a week ago and I forgot to send the little gift that I got her, rubbish friend that I have become! I love this little elephant colored with ProMarkers and I thought it worked well with this Sugar and Spice paper. I added some foam letters I just picked up from Tiger as a greeting. Kids don't care that things match (she's 1 - she's not reading this card, let's be honest!) so I decided to just go for a mix of colors.

I love how playful the final cards are, not bad for a slapdash craft session!

Project 310: Another yoga mother's day card

My friend asked me to make a card with a lot of fun little details. She asked me to have someone doing yoga and then asked me to do something to hint at how she is about to be a grandmother.

I researched different yoga poses and found Ego Eradicator, an energy pose that felt perfect. I cut it by hand as a silhouette. I put four hearts, as she has four kids, and inside is a smaller heart growing inside.

I die cut the sentiment in purple and layered it over the same teal paper.

No bling, no sequins, just simple paper shapes. I love it and think it fits the brief really well.